Patients suffering from nasal allergy, asthma, flat lichen, wide inflammatory stomatitis and the like diseases are treated by administering powdery medicines into the nasal cavities or the oral cavity. The medicines are administered by using powdery medicine dispensers or containers. Such dispensers can roughly be divided into two types depending upon their manner of containing the powdery medicines.
The device of the first type may be a unit dosage dispenser or container in which a powdery medicine of an amount (unit dosage) that will be administered each time is contained in a suitable container as a unit, and is administered in an amount of a unit dosage for every administering operation. The device of the second type may be a multi-dosage dispenser or container in which a powdery medicine of an amount (multiple dosages) that will be administered a plural number of times is contained in a suitable container, and the powdery medicine of a unit dosage is correctly taken out from the container and is administered for every administration operation. Examples of the former unit dosage dispenser further include a simple device or a disposable container which also works as a disposable device that can be disposed of after each administration operation.
Unit dosage dispenser containers have been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-34267 and Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 63-6024. These devices are usually equipped with a unit dosage container-holding portion held in a capsule or the like, means for perforating the unit dosage container, and means for introducing the air stream to spray the powdery medicine from the perforated container into the nasal cavities or the like cavities of a patient. A disposable container has further been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2-500172, according to which the powdery medicine dispenser container comprises a medicine-holding portion in which a fine powdery medicine is contained and of which the head portion has an opening for spraying or sucking the powdery medicine, and means for introducing the air, the bottom of the medicine-holding portion being communicated with the means for introducing the air through an air-permeable membrane but which does not permit the powdery medicine to pass through.
A multi-dosage dispenser container has been disclosed in, for example, WO94/26338.
According to this specification, the device comprises a device body, a storage chamber detachably mounted on said body and capable of storing a powdery medicine in an amount (multiple dosages) for plural times of administrations, medicine distribution means having a container chamber of a capacity (unit dosage) for each administration operation and is movably mounted on said body, so that said container chamber at a charging position is communicated with said storage chamber to administer the powdery medicine in the container chamber, means for moving said distribution means between the charging position and the administering position, and pump means for stirring the powdery medicine in the storage chamber by injecting the air into the storage chamber through the container chamber at the charging position, wherein the powdery medicine of a predetermined amount after stirring is charged into said container chamber from said storage chamber relying upon the suction force by said pump means and/or gravity.
As described above, many dispenser devices or containers have heretofore been devised accompanied, however, by their respective problems.
That is, the unit dosage dispenser disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-34267 and Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 63-6024 must be equipped with means for perforating the medicine container. Therefore, the device becomes bulky and not suited for being carried. Besides, a cumbersome operation is required for putting the medicine container in the device and effecting the perforation for each administration operation, removing the container after the administration operation, and washing the device after it is used for extended periods of time.
The multi-dosage dispenser disclosed in the specification of W094/26338 is constituted by a medicine storage unit, a medicine container chamber for each administration operation, means for measuring the medicine, and pump means. Therefore, the dispenser is considerably bulky and is not suited for being carried, and must be washed after it is used for extended periods of time.
The disposable container disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2-500172 is free from the problems of the above-mentioned multi-dosage device or the unit dosage device, but has a separator wall between the medicine-holding unit and the air introduction means. Therefore, the device is fabricated through complex fabrication steps, is likely to be broken during the pumping provided the separator wall is not strongly adhered to the periphery thereof, and becomes expensive due to the use of a filter as the separator wall, and is not economical if it is to be discarded after being used only once.
That is, none of the conventional powdery medicine dispensers or administering devices satisfy all of the requirements for being fabricated in small sizes so as to be easily carried, operated easily and quickly, fabricated through simple steps, fabricated using a small number of parts, and fabricated at low cost. In particular, when importance is given to portability, easy use and sanitation, it is strongly desired to provide a cheap and disposable administering device that can be fabricated through simple steps.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have studied the disposable container disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2-500172. That is, the inventors have removed the separator wall, contained the powdery medicine in the powdery medicine-holding portion which has an air reservoir that is formed together with the powdery medicine holding portion as a unitary structure, opened the head portion of the medicine-holding portion and depressed (pumped) the air reservoir in an attempt to spray the powdery medicine to the outside through the opening. In fact, however, though the medicine was partly sprayed, the medicine near the opening in the holding portion flew backwards when a negative pressure was created in the air reservoir, and all the medicine contained therein could not be sprayed. It was therefore learned that even when the powdery medicine is contained in a closed flexible container, the container is partly opened and is then pumped by being depressed in an attempt to spray and discharge the powdery medicine contained therein through the opening, the medicine flew backwards, and it was very difficult to spray and discharge all of the medicine.
In treating diseases in the nasal cavities, furthermore, the device for administering the powdery medicine must be capable of evenly spraying the powdery medicine into both nasal cavities.
To evenly spray and administer the medicine to both nasal cavities, there may be used two administering devices, one for one nasal cavity and another for another nasal cavity, or there may be used an administering device having two spray ports so that the medicine can be simultaneously administered into both nasal cavities. It can be further contrived to alternatingly spray and administer the powdery medicine into both nasal cavities by using a powdery medicine administering device having only one spray port, in order to evenly administer the medicine into both nasal cavities.
From the standpoint of portability, easy use and low cost, however, neither a method of using two administering devices nor the administering device having two spray ports is desired. It is desired to evenly administer the medicine into the nasal cavities by using only one administering device and by alternatingly spraying and administering the powdery medicine contained therein into both nasal cavities.
In order to evenly administer the powdery medicine into both nasal cavities by using only one powdery medicine administering device having only one spray port, the medicine may be administered into the nasal cavities in the order of, for example, right, left, left, right, . . . .
For this purpose, more than 90% of the medicine contained therein must by sprayed and discharged through the first four or six times of spraying, and the total amount of the powdery medicine sprayed in the first and fourth times must be equal to the total amount of the powdery medicine sprayed in the second and third times, or the total amount of the powdery medicine sprayed in the first, fourth and fifth times must be equal to the total amount of the powdery medicine sprayed in the second, third and sixth times.